Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities - Feb. 12, 2021
Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities Regular Meeting of the Mayor''s Committee for People with Disabilities - MCPD Regular Meeting Friday February 12
Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (MCPD) Meeting Friday February 12, 2021 MCPD to be held Friday, February 12, 2021 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance by Thursday, February 11, 2021 by 12:00pm noon. All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the February 12, 2021 MCPD Meeting, members of the public must: •Call or email the board liaison at (512)-974-3256 or david.ondich@austintexas.gov no later than noon, Thursday, February 11, 2021. The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, and a telephone number or email address. •Once a request to speak has been made to the board liaison, the information to call on the day of the scheduled meeting will be provided either by email or phone call. •Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start time in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. •Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. •Handouts or other information may be emailed to david.ondich@austintexas.gov by Noon on Thursday, February 11, 2021. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. •If the meeting is broadcast live, it may be viewed here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch- atxn-live Reunión del Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (MCPD) FECHA de la reunion (02/12/2021) La junta se llevará con modificaciones de distanciamiento social Se permitirán comentarios públicos por teléfono; no se permitirá ninguna entrada en persona. Todos los oradores deben registrarse con anticipación (02/11/21 antes del mediodía). Todos los comentarios públicos se producirán al comienzo de la reunión. Para hablar de forma remota en la reunión, los miembros del público deben: (512)-974-3256 y • Llame o envíe un correo electrónico al enlace de david.ondich@austitnexas.gov a más tardar al mediodía (el día antes de la reunión). Se requiere la siguiente información: nombre del orador, número (s) de artículo sobre el que desean hablar, si están a favor / en contra / neutral, dirección de correo electrónico (opcional) y un número de teléfono (debe ser el número que se utilizará para llamar ). • Una vez que se haya realizado una solicitud para hablar con el enlace de la junta, la información para llamar …
RESOLUTION NO. WHEREAS, the City of Austin’s greatest asset is its people who are passionate about their city, committed to its improvement, and determined to see its vision become a reality; and WHEREAS, the percent of registered voters who voted in the past 4 years of city elections exceeded 60 percent; and WHEREAS, an overwhelming majority of registered voters who live in Austin voted for the current Austin City Council representation; and WHEREAS, over 700 Austinites participate and serve on over 60 Boards and Commissions to help shape, and continually improve upon the policies of the City and the lives of its Residents; and WHEREAS, the input provided to the Austin City Council through the City’s Boards and Commissions reflects the will of the community; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City of Austin that the legislative agenda guide City staff, in coordination with the City’s strategic partners, in their efforts to advocate on behalf of the City of Austin and its residents; and WHEREAS, each year, the Texas Legislature increasingly attempts to pass legislation that negatively impacts the City through preemption or limiting the ability to advocate; and WHEREAS, the 2019 Legislature strongly considered and almost passed S.B. 29 which would have limited the ability of the City to utilize community advocates to effectively advocate on behalf of the policies created and supported by its residents; and WHEREAS, taxpayers and City residents benefit from and need community advocates as a tool that amplifies their voices before the Legislature, Congress, and regulatory bodies; and WHEREAS, a prohibition on community advocacy equates to censorship of Residents’ voices and is detrimental to a representative democracy where all Austinites and Texans have equal opportunities to voice their opinions. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE _________________ OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN HEREBY ADOPTS THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION THAT: The _________________________ endorses the City of Austin’s 2020 Legislative Agenda adopted by the Austin City Council on September 17th, 2020. RESOLUTION NO. The __________________________ believes the general principals of the policy and position statements contained in the City of Austin’s state legislative agenda capture the positions of its membership and the community it represents. The ___________________________ urges all Austin delegation members of the Texas Legislature to protect the City’s right to effectively represent the taxpayers and continue to amplify their collective voices through advocacy at the Texas Legislature. The _____________________ …
DRAFT A Resolution To Get The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities on the Austin Economic Development Corporation WHEREAS, people with disabilities are hard hit by the Covid‐19 pandemic specifically because of our pre‐ existing conditions; WHEREAS, the City of Austin, has a very large and engaged local disability community, several of whom are also small business entrepreneurs; WHEREAS, the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (MCPD) is a voting member of the Joint Inclusion Committee which helps advise both the Equity Office, and Chief Equity Officer; WHEREAS, the City of Austin’s Chief Equity Officer is already a sitting member of the Austin Economic Development Corporation; WHEREAS, full access to appropriate k‐12 special education, Americans with Disabilities Act provisions, and 504 services for all Austin residents was disrupted by the Covid‐19 pandemic, and quality of received education services provides a critical foundation for achieving future life successes including employment and career opportunities; WHEREAS, people with disabilities must receive full access to appropriate education, post‐secondary education, and workforce training programs, even during a pandemic; WHEREAS, one of the long‐term goals of the MCPD even prior to the Covid‐19 pandemic is increased and improved meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities; WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy specifically shows a higher unemployment rate for people with disabilities than the general population; WHEREAS, achieving equity also involves eliminating all traces of ableism from City programs which systematically ignore the explicit representation and specific experiences of people with disabilities. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities requests that the City of Austin amend the bylaws of the Austin Economic Development Corporation so a representative from the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities is permanently seated on this city corporation and is helping to advise the City of Austin about economic, educational and community development opportunities especially for people with disabilities.
A Resolution to Join the Austin‐Travis County Hate Crimes Task Force DRAFT WHEREAS, the State of Texas proactively recognizes disability in a list of hate crime victim demographics; WHEREAS, ableism is discrimination occurring in society specifically because of disability and the City of Austin with large populations of people with disabilities, has an ethical obligation to finally publically acknowledge and properly address ableism as also being an unfortunate part of the City of Austin’s unique history; WHEREAS, ableism is central to the lived experience of people with disabilities and incidents should not be downplayed or minimized; WHEREAS, MCPD has already begun to address and work toward constructively addressing and effectively resolving past and existing patterns of ableism within the Austin Police Department and City of Austin; WHEREAS, both the Human Rights Commission and the Immigrant Affairs Commission , whom the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (MCPD) already actively collaborates with through mutual projects on the Joint Inclusion Committee, are already full voting members of the Austin‐Travis County Hate Crimes Task Force; WHEREAS, MCPD wants to continue working together with the Austin Police Department, the Office of Police Monitor, the Equity Office, and the City of Austin to proactively recognize and constructively resolve reported bias incidents which occur specifically because of disability; WHEREAS, proactively recognizing and constructively resolving violence against people with disabilities and ableism in our City helps make Austin a safer more equitable and inclusive community for people of all abilities. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities recommends that the Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities join the Austin Travis County Hate Crimes Task Force as a full voting member.
DRAFT A Resolution to Replace Mention of TTY in City of Austin Facilities WHEREAS, teletypewriters (TTY) are an outdated and rarely used means of communication within the Deaf community; WHEREAS, the City of Austin, being home to the Texas School for the Deaf, has a large local vibrant, and very engaged Deaf community; WHEREAS, the City of Austin prides itself on both being aware of all current technologies and constantly striving to achieve cultural inclusion; WHEREAS, cultural inclusion and awareness of current technology must include fully include people with disabilities and people with disabilities must fully include the Deaf community and their preferred and current means of communicating with all City personnel and facilities; WHEREAS, the City of Austin itself no longer even uses TTY as a means of communication with the Deaf community and had already replaced TTY devices with VRS, but had not already updated corresponding references in City publications; WHEREAS, having provided current communications information is part of ensuring a government which works for all. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities recommends that the City of Austin replace all existing references to TTY which are still currently being printed in official City publications with Video Relay Services (VRS) in order to effectively facilitate appropriate and equitable public communications with the Austin, Texas Deaf community.
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Mayor’s Committee on People with Disabilities Recommendation Number: 20210212-2B: A Resolution to Replace Mention of TTY in City of Austin Facilities WHEREAS, teletypewriters (TTY) are an outdated and rarely used means of communication within the Deaf community; WHEREAS, the City of Austin, being home to the Texas School for the Deaf, has a large local vibrant, and very engaged Deaf community; WHEREAS, the City of Austin prides itself on both being aware of all current technologies and constantly striving to achieve cultural inclusion; WHEREAS, cultural inclusion and awareness of current technology must include fully include people with disabilities and people with disabilities must fully include the Deaf community and their preferred and current means of communicating with all City personnel and facilities; WHEREAS, the City of Austin itself no longer even uses TTY as a means of communication with the Deaf community and had already replaced TTY devices with VRS, but had not already updated corresponding references in City publications; WHEREAS, having provided current communications information is part of ensuring a government which works for all. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that The Mayor’s Committee for People with Disabilities recommends that the City of Austin replace all existing references to TTY which are still currently being printed in official City publications with Video Relay Services (VRS) in order to effectively facilitate appropriate and equitable public communications with the Austin, Texas Deaf community. Date of Approval: 02/12/21 Record of the vote: Unanimous on a 7-0 vote Attest: David Ondich (Mayor’s Committee for people with Disabilities City Staff Liaison)
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Mayor’s Committee on People with Disabilities Recommendation Number: 20210212-2H: A Resolution to Support the City of Austin Legislative Agenda WHEREAS, the City of Austin’s greatest asset is its people who are passionate about their city, committed to its improvement, and determined to see its vision become a reality; and WHEREAS, the percent of registered voters who voted in the past 4 years of city elections exceeded 60 percent; and WHEREAS, an overwhelming majority of registered voters who live in Austin voted for the current Austin City Council representation; and WHEREAS, over 700 Austinites participate and serve on over 60 Boards and Commissions to help shape, and continually improve upon the policies of the City and the lives of its Residents; and WHEREAS, the input provided to the Austin City Council through the City’s Boards and Commissions reflects the will of the community; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the City of Austin that the legislative agenda guide City staff, in coordination with the City’s strategic partners, in their efforts to advocate on behalf of the City of Austin and its residents; and WHEREAS, each year, the Texas Legislature increasingly attempts to pass legislation that negatively impacts the City through preemption or limiting the ability to advocate; and WHEREAS, the 2019 Legislature strongly considered and almost passed S.B. 29 which would have limited the ability of the City to utilize community advocates to effectively advocate on behalf of the policies created and supported by its residents; and WHEREAS, taxpayers and City residents benefit from and need community advocates as a tool that amplifies their voices before the Legislature, Congress, and regulatory bodies; and WHEREAS, a prohibition on community advocacy equates to censorship of Residents’ voices and is detrimental to a representative democracy where all Austinites and Texans have equal opportunities to voice their opinions. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE MCPD OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN HEREBY ADOPTS THE FOLLOWING RESOLUTION THAT: • The MCPD endorses the City of Austin’s 2020 Legislative Agenda adopted by the Austin City Council on September 17th, 2020. • The MCPD believes the general principals of the policy and position statements contained in the City of Austin’s state legislative agenda capture the positions of its membership and the community it represents. • The MCPD urges all Austin delegation members of the Texas Legislature to protect the City’s right to effectively represent the …
